1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for making bread and more particularly apparatus for making bread wherein loaves of dough are contained in moving compartments formed on an insulated belt conveyor with a pair of electrically conductive plates on opposite sides of each compartment in contact with the dough for passing an electric current thereto through to bake the dough while it is moving along the conveyor. When baking is completed the conductive electric plates are disconnected from the power source and removed from the conveyor so that the baked loaves of bread may then be removed from the coneyor in readiness for further processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Baking of loaves of bread by passing an electric current through a mass of dough has been utilized heretofore and in a typical system, individual baking boxes formed of wood, plastic, or other electrically insulating material have been utilized to hold a mass of bread dough in contact with a pair of conductive electrodes formed of aluminum coated on iron plate. An electric power source is connected to the electrodes of each baking box to pass current through the dough contained therein.
These prior art systems typically require a large amount of hand labor in loading the boxes with dough, inserting the electrodes, interconnecting the electrodes with a power source and, after baking is completed, the boxes are manually disassembled and the electrodes removed manually before the baked bread loaves can be released for further processing. In many instances the large number and size of the individual bread cases needed for a mass production process require extensive storage and stacking space and in addition, the electrical baking process is relatively inefficient because the baking becomes effective on just one side of the bread loaf and the outside electric current becomes a voltaic current.